Festival Celebrates Heritage Of India

STORRS — When Bhairavi Parikh isn't contemplating the nuances of a wiring diagram, she sometimes can be found pursuing her heritage at a Boston dance studio.

Ten years of lessons paid off Saturday, when the 22-year-old University of Connecticut electrical engineering student mesmerized a crowd of about 300 with the fluid, sinewy art form of classic Indian dancing.

Parikh's performance was part of a "festival of lights" celebration at UConn, sponsored by the school's Indian Student Association. The event, called Diwali, is an Indian holiday of music, food and dancing, drawing on characters and events of Indian folklore.

"Diwali is our biggest event of the year," said Mehernosh Mistry, president of the student association. "We want to include everyone in our celebration, both in the Indian community and the local community."

Suresh Nair, a UConn professor who serves as faculty adviser to the association, said there are about 400 Indian students at the university.

"The number keeps growing every year," he said.

Diwali attracted a wide range of students, faculty and their relatives, including UConn President Harry Hartley, who took part in a welcoming presentation in which candles were lit and songs sung.

Many guests dressed for the occasion in traditional Indian garb. Women wore colorful embroidered dresses -- ghaaras or saris. The styles differ depending on which Indian province the wearer calls home.

Sitwat Siddiqui, a freshman pharmacology major, gave up her jeans for the night in exchange for an elaborately embroidered red and gold ghaara, a flowing dress with a headpiece.

Nayna Chheda brought her 3-month-old daughter, who slept through most of the festivities. Chheda, who came from India four years ago with her husband Pradeep, a UConn graduate student, found